PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Aaron Thornton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Johnny Tokyo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Thornton
vs
Tokyo

225 cm
18
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
25
262 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Aaron Thornton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Johnny Tokyo!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yuuki Gou and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tokyo showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thornton.
Tokyo throws a nice outside leg kick.
Tokyo connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Thornton's hands.
Tokyo with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Thornton takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Thornton bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Thornton gets to mount! Tokyo was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Tokyo is looking to get to half guard.
Thornton landing strikes, looking to finish!
Tokyo is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thornton thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Tokyo is looking to get to half guard.
Thornton lands a heavy elbow.
Thornton controlling from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tokyo regains half guard.

Tokyo looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thornton with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Tokyo looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Thornton lands strikes from half guard.
Thornton works his way into full mount!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Tokyo wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Thornton.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tokyo is trying desperately to improve position.
Thornton throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Tokyo is squirming around, avoiding Thornton's attempts to control the action.
Thornton controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Thornton.
Thornton controlling the position easily from mount.
Tokyo tries to reverse the position but Thornton maintains control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tokyo tries to hold on but Thornton pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Aaron Thornton will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Tokyo throws a jab but it's blocked by Thornton.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Thornton.

Thornton stands up and beckons Tokyo to his feet.
Thornton blocks the body kick.
Tokyo scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Good leg kick by Tokyo there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
The fight stays on the outside here - Tokyo looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

A head kick lands from Tokyo that sends Thornton to the canvas. Thornton tries to scramble back to his feet but Tokyo brings him back down into side control.

It looks like Aaron Thornton has been cut.
Aaron Thornton overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Tokyo wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Thornton, who protects the arm well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Thornton is trying to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Tokyo has hold of Thornton's arm here. He's working for an Americana. It looks like he might have it! Thornton tries to escape but he's just digging himself in deeper - Tokyo cranks the arm and Thornton screams in pain! The ref makes a decision and ends the fight before the tap - no complains from Thornton, who is just happy to have his arm attached to his body.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:35 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Johnny Tokyo!
An out of breath Johnny Tokyo thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.